Riders Rail Against Cars : O.C. Commuters Say Metrolink Coaches Are Noisy and Cramped

It’s petition-circulating time on the 5:40 p.m. train from Los Angeles to San Juan Capistrano, and that is not good news for the Southern California Regional Rail Authority.

Only days before the five-county commuter rail agency is scheduled to open its Metrolink system for business Monday, the authority is being confronted by complaints from passengers unhappy with its modern, double-decked passenger coaches.

Several of the distinctive periwinkle-and-white cars have been in service for more than a month on the Orange County Transportation Authority’s once-a-day round-trip commuter train.

The reviews, so far, have been mixed at best.

Passengers often compliment the cars’ appearance. And they like the tables scattered among some of the second-floor seats, which give riders space to set up laptop computers or spread out some papers. People also favor the large restrooms, which are designed--like the rest of the coaches--to be wheelchair-accessible.

But many riders complain that the new cars are noisy, the seats are cramped and there are not enough places to park briefcases, coats and other belongings. Some also say they miss the convenience of cafe cars, where they could buy coffee and snacks when they commuted on Amtrak’s intercity San Diegan trains.

Because they serve commuters, Metrolink rail cars also lack the dining facilities available on the Amtrak trains, which are designed for longer trips.

Metrolink is the official name of the new regional commuter rail network that eventually will have stations every five miles along several routes, with Union Station in Los Angeles serving as the hub. The new lines opening Monday will run from Pomona, Moorpark and Santa Clarita into Los Angeles.

Orange County’s commuter train has been operating for more than a year, and the OCTA plans to run two more trains between San Juan Capistrano and Los Angeles by next fall and a total of nine trains by 1995. While the train uses Metrolink’s name and equipment, it won’t officially join the network until sometime next year when it adopts Metrolink’s ticketing system--and lower fares.

Metrolink officials have heard most of the complaints and said they are trying to address them. Dana Reed, one of Orange County’s representatives on the rail authority board, has asked that future Metrolink cars be redesigned with roomier seating and other improvements.

But when real estate appraiser Steven T. Hermanson takes a seat on the 5:40 p.m. train, “the headrest hits me here,” he said recently, pointing to his shoulder blades and hunching over. “So I’m pitched forward like this for 50 minutes.”

Hermanson, who stands about 6 feet, 3 inches tall and is solidly built, lives in Mission Viejo and rides every morning from Irvine to Union Station. He said he is devoted to train commuting because it gives him time to socialize or work. But he said there are times he is tempted to join friends who have switched to car pools.

Hermanson said it is difficult to open the doors between coaches. He wishes that the trains ran more often so he could arrive at his office closer to the start of business. And he would like Metrolink to dim the lights in the cars.

“When you get on at 6 a.m. and these lights hit you . . . ,” he said, wincing at the thought. “You could dissect frogs under these lights. You could perform surgery in here.”

On his own, Hermanson recently circulated a questionnaire among his fellow passengers, asking them how they liked the cars. He said he intends to use the results to petition Metrolink officials for changes.

Most of those who filled in the forms on a recent leg to San Juan Capistrano echoed his complaints, on paper and in person.

One man, while going over Hermanson’s one-page, multiple-choice form, said: “These seats are uncomfortable for big people.”

“For little people too,” responded a woman across the aisle.

“It’s not enough to make me stop riding,” said Ed McCah, a five-day-a-week commuter from San Juan Capistrano to Los Angeles. “I’d much rather have an uncomfortable train that runs on time than a comfortable train that doesn’t. Amtrak seemed to be late a lot. Metrolink, at least, runs on time.”

“But there are enormous problems (with the cars),” he added.

McCah said he tries not to sit next to or across from anyone because the face-to-face seats are narrow and lack legroom. He tries hardest to stay out of window seats, which he describes as the most cramped.

“I avoid them like the plague,” he said. “I can’t move my arms at all.”

Richard Stanger, executive director of the Southern California Regional Rail Authority, said he has talked to the cars’ manufacturer, the UTDC division of Bombardier Inc., about redesigning models built for Metrolink expansion.

There is not enough time, Stanger added, to modify the cars that have been built and will be on hand for Metrolink’s opening Monday. Stanger said he hopes that new riders will like the cars and that Orange County commuters will learn to like them over time.

“If you’re used to an Amtrak train, as the people in Orange County are, these will take some getting used to,” he said. Similar coaches--with seats that are less padded--have won praise from commuters in Toronto and Miami, he said.

Stanger ignored the fact that OCTA’s passengers previously used double-decked CalTrain rail cars borrowed from Northern California for a year, not Amtrak trains. The CalTrain cars are similar to the Metrolink cars but roomier.

So if the regulars on the 5:40 p.m. train to San Juan Capistrano are a reliable barometer, Southern California riders will be a hard sell.

“In Toronto, they have mostly medium-length commutes,” said Hermanson, adding that he had researched the topic.

“Their longest commute is 50 minutes; our average commute is that long. . . . Sometimes,” he said, “I get home more tense than when I left the office.”

Commuters’ Complaints

Orange County’s commuter train has been using new Metrolink rail cars for two months--the same equipment that will be used for Metrolink service from Moorpark, Santa Clarita and Pomona into Los Angeles, starting Monday. But if Orange County rail passengers are any guide, the new cars will not be popular. Among commuters’ gripes:

Too little leg room. Rows of seats face each other, with some passengers knocking knees.

Little space for briefcases or parcels. No overhead racks.

Overly intense, bright lighting.

Noisy ride.

No snack bar.

Rail officials say that it’s too late to modify cars already delivered but that they will consider design changes on upcoming orders.